Process diagrams are important tools in biology for explaining processes such as protein synthesis,
compound cycles and the like. The aim of the present study was to measure the ability to solve processdiagram
problems in biology and its relationship with prior knowledge, spatial ability and working
memory. For this purpose, we developed a test that represents process diagrams and adjacent tasks used in
secondary education biology. Results show that the ability to solve process-diagram problems is correlated
to prior knowledge, spatial abilities and visuospatial working memory capacity. A difference in impact of
spatial skills was demonstrated for the level of cognitive demand when solving process-diagram problems

• Students’ Ability to Solve Process-diagram Problems in Secondary Biology Education

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